Tiohtià:ke and Surrounding Areas in the Kanien’keha:ka Language

By Karonhí:io Delaronde & Jordan Engel

This map of Tiohtià:ke tsi ionhwéntsare was made by Karonhí:io Delaronde, a Kanien’kéha speaker from Kanièn:ke and Jordan Engel, a map-maker from Ka’skonhtsherá:kon (Rochester). The following list of toponyms contains the Kanien’kéha place name, its translation, and the English place name.

a’nenharihthà:ke (place where the grapes are cooked) – saint-eustache

ioniatarakwà:ronte (it has a bulge in the lake/river) – chambly

ka’neshatà:ke (where the fine snow-crust is [named so because when going there when it is really sunny the sands of the foothill sparkle like the snow-crust]), or kaneshatà:ke (on the foothill) – oka

kahentà:ke (on the prairie) or ken’tà:ke – la prairie

kahnawà:ke (on/at the rapids) – kahnawake

kanà:tso (pail in the water, pail boiling) – the ottawa river

kaniá:tare tsi kahnhokà:ronte – the richelieu river kaniatarowanénhne (place of the big river) or kahrhionhwa’kó:wa (the great sized river) – the st. lawrence river

karonhiatsi’kowáhne (where the sky is noticeably great) – longueuil

oshahrhè:’on (most likely to do with osháhrhe [cattail]) – chateauguay

oshahrhè:’on or shahrhè:’on – the chateauguay river

otsirà:ke (on the fire) or o’seronnì:ke (place of where the axes are made) or tiotià:kon/tiótiah’ke (broken in two [the st. lawrence river breaks into two around the island]) – montreal island

skaniatará:ti (across the river) – lachine

tiohtià:ke (From Tiotià:kon/Tiótia’ke [broken in two]) – montreal

tken’taró:ton (many chimneys are standing there) – saint-placide

tsi ienontahrástha (place to march up a mountain) – calvary mountain

tsi kahiatonsherón:ni (where the papers are made) – salaberry-de-valleyfield

tsi kania’tarón:ni (where the cloths are made) – beauharnois

tsi tkahná:wate (where the rapid is) – lasalle

wishòn:ke (place of the plums) – saint-philippe

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